What Once Was
by Parsec
Summary: [Rated R for graphic scenes]  On the way back from vacation, the Professor and the girls decide to spend the night at a hotel...but there's more to this hotel than meets the eye...
1. Check-In

**__**

What Once Was

By: Mark J. Hadley

* * *

****

CHAPTER 1: "Check-In"

The City of Townsville was still at least a day or two's journey away. Buttercup stared out of the window of the car, watching the landscape roll by, consisting mostly of just empty fields and the occasional woods. For what seemed to be the hundredth time, she suggested, "Why don't we just pick up the car and fly it home? It'd be a lot faster…"

"Because we're on vacation," the professor said, from the front seat. "Enjoying the scenic routes on the way home is part of the whole experience, you know."

Buttercup protested, "But we're on our way _back _from vacation! The vacation is over…so why can't we just get home as fast as we can?"

Blossom, seated in the center of the backseat next to Buttercup, answered, "I'd think you would have wanted the vacation to last as long as it _can_, Buttercup…"

"Yeah, except that this last part of it has been _boring_," Buttercup countered.

Bubbles just stared out her own window, ignoring the conversation, and pointed excitedly to a fenced-in field on a farm, "Look! Ponies!"

The professor smiled from the front seat and continued driving, heading down the long, two-lane highway. It was starting to grow dark, so he was keeping his eye out for a hotel, but there didn't seem to be anything along this road for miles. He hoped they would find something soon, or else they'd have to just sleep in the car for the night.

"How much further?" Blossom asked.

"I'm not sure," the professor replied, reaching onto the seat next to him as he drove and picking up a road map. He handed it back to her and said, "See if there's anything along this highway."

Blossom studied the map and said, "This doesn't have hotels or anything on it."

"I know, but how far is the nearest exit?" he asked. "I'm sure we'll find something if we…" He broke off, spotting a sign on the road ahead, and said, "Nevermind, there's an exit. There should be someplace to spend the night near here…I hope, anyway."

He pulled the car off the road onto the exit, and it emptied out on a rocky, unpaved road. Buttercup looked out from her window at the ground and remarked, "Um, Professor…it doesn't look like hardly anyone _uses_ this road…"

"Nonsense, see?" he said, pointing up ahead. Far in front of them, they could see a large house up on top of a hill, almost like a mansion. It was bordered on its sides and back by woods, but there was a road spiraling up to it on the front side of the hill. There were lights on, so they knew people were there. The size of it, and the number of windows, seemed to indicate that it wasn't a mansion, but rather, an old hotel. As they drove closer to it, a sign confirmed this: 'Hotel Vananda'.

"Perfect!" the professor exclaimed as he turned the car onto the road leading up the hill. "I just hope that they have an available room…"

The drive up only took a minute. Buttercup peered at the three-story hotel as they approached and said, "Creepy place…"

"Yeah," Bubbles agreed. "It looks really old…"

The professor parked the car in front. Oddly enough, there weren't any other visible cars in the area. He began to wonder if maybe there actually _wasn't _anyone here. He and the girls got out and began walking towards the front door. It was a beautiful set of thick cedar doors, engraved very elegantly, and a row of marble pillars lined the front of the hotel.

Buttercup noticed that the sun was just about to set, so she followed the others to the door of the hotel. As she did, she suddenly felt very cold, like a gust of wind had just blown across the hill. She shivered slightly, and Blossom looked over at her, "You okay?"

"I'm fine, just the wind," Buttercup said, shaking it off. She looked up at the windows on the upper floors as they approached, and for a moment, by one of them, she saw a woman with long red hair looking out at her. She stared back curiously for a second, but a moment later the woman turned away from the window, disappearing. Buttercup shrugged, and continued with the others to the front door.

The professor slowly swung the doors open and glanced inside. The hotel foyer was very artistically decorated, with several marble statues, comfortable-looking couches to rest on, and an enormous crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Paintings adorned the walls, most of them images of various important-looking people. The front desk was up ahead. Despite the lack of people, the place seemed very clean; no cobwebs or dust anywhere.

"It's beautiful," Blossom breathed, looking at the décor. "Don't you think so?"

Bubbles nodded, "I like those paintings a lot."

The professor approached the desk and rang the small bell. A few seconds passed, and someone came out from the back room. The man had black hair and a moustache, and was dressed in a suit and tie. He said cheerfully, "Greetings! Welcome to Hotel Vananda. I am Mr. Fenton. How can I be of service to you?"

Nodding, the professor replied, "We'd like a room for the evening, one for me and my three little girls." He glanced around and said, "You don't look very busy right now…"

"It's the slow season, I'm afraid," Mr. Fenton explained. "We usually don't get any guests here at all during this time. They mostly come down during the early winter or mid-summer. In fact, you're our only patron in the past few weeks." He pulled the guest book out from under the desk and swiveled it around, offering the professor a pen, "If you'll just sign in, I'll get you your room key."

The professor signed, and Bubbles continued to admire the paintings. She pointed to the one right over the desk and said to Mr. Fenton, "Is that you?"

He looked up at the painting and smiled, "That's me. I'm the current owner of Hotel Vananda. Most of the other ones across the foyer are previous owners…"

"There sure are a lot of them," Blossom observed.

"The hotel has a long history," he explained. "It has been here for well over a hundred years. The building itself is even older, dating back to colonial days, and although it has been renovated more than a few times since then, much of it was restored to its original quality. All throughout the hotel, you'll find sculptures and other pieces of art dating back many, many years, all of them the original ones displayed here."

The professor finished signing in, and Mr. Fenton took the guest book back, going over to get their room key. The professor remarked, "Well, let me complement you on the condition you've kept the hotel."

"Thank you, sir," he said, coming back and handing him the room key. "Your room is 309. It's on the second floor…the original builders numbered the first-floor rooms in the 200's instead of in the 100's, and it was never changed, because the previous owners felt it gave the hotel…'character'. Also, since you're our only patrons at the time, feel free to go where you wish around the hotel. Much of the art and décor is simply stunning, if I say so myself."

The professor took the key and said, "Thanks!" He picked up his bags, and the girls each carried theirs, as they headed for the large, curved staircase leading up to the second floor.

Buttercup paused by the desk before following them and asked, "Are you sure we're the only guests here?"

"Quite sure," Mr. Fenton answered. "Why do you ask?"

"I saw someone by the windows upstairs," Buttercup told him. "A woman. If she's not a guest, then…maybe your wife, or…?"

He shook his head, "There's no one like that here. Perhaps you only saw a set of drapes through one of the windows. I can assure you that besides myself, you four are the only ones in this hotel right now."

"Oh…" Buttercup said, still a little confused. "I guess so…" She blinked a few times, then carried the bags with her to the stairs. _It sure looked like a woman,_ she thought. _Guess my eyes were playin' tricks on me…_

* * *

Room 309 had two beds in it, and the girls' bed was large enough for all three of them. The bedposts were carved from cedar, and were as elegantly designed as anything else in the hotel. There were more paintings in the room…most of these were paintings of the hotel itself on a landscape setting. One of them dated back to the early 1800's, and although it looked somewhat different from the outside, they could still tell it was the same building.

As they unpacked their things, Bubbles was looking around the walls of the room…she said, "I wish they coulda given us a room with a window…won't it get really dark when the lights go out?"

"It's all right, sweetie," the professor told her. "I'll be right here in the next bed." Bubbles smiled, and seemed to relax a little, returning to her unpacking.

Blossom sat down on the edge of the bed and yawned a little, then said, "I'm feeling a little tired. I don't really feel like sleeping yet, though…I guess it's just been a long drive. What do you think?"

Buttercup nodded absently. She was still wondering about the girl she thought she saw…she kept giving glances at the door, until finally she said, "Professor, can I look around for a little bit? I promise I'll be back."

"That's fine," the professor said. "Just don't get lost."

Buttercup laughed a little at that, "Me? Get lost? Are you kiddin'?"

"Well, I think one of your sisters should go along with you, at least," the professor said. "Blossom?"

"Sure!" she exclaimed. "I wanted to take a look at some more of the art that's around, anyway."

The professor smiled and nodded, "All right, but be careful not to touch anything. I'm not sure Mr. Fenton would appreciate it if you mishandled any of it."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine," Buttercup said. "C'mon, Bloss…" The two of them left the room and headed off down the hallway. Lamps every ten feet or so lighted the hall…they were electric lamps, although they looked like they were probably once conventional lamps sometime in the past.

"Sure is a nice place," Blossom remarked. "None of the other hotels we stayed at during our vacation were anywhere _near_ this nice."

"Yeah," Buttercup said, preoccupied. She found a stairwell leading up to the third floor and flew up, with Blossom right behind her. _She's got to be up here somewhere, if I really saw her,_ she thought.

Noticing she was in a little bit of a rush, Blossom asked, "What's your hurry?"

"When we came in," Buttercup told her, "I could _swear _I saw a woman by one of the windows. I've gotta find out if I did or not."

"Mr. Fenton said that no one else was here," Blossom pointed out, as they started down one of the halls on the third floor.

Buttercup stopped for a moment and turned to face her, "Yeah, and that's what bothers me. If there _is_ someone else here, why would he lie about it? Either way, I have to know for sure whether or…"

"Look!" Blossom interrupted, pointing past her. Buttercup swiveled around just fast enough to see something at the end of the hall. At the T-junction of the hallways, a shape of someone had moved past, visible for only a moment, although it looked like a woman. The two of them quickly flew for the end of the hall, and Blossom called out, "Miss? Hello?"

When they reached the junction, they looked down both directions of the hallway. There was no sign of her. "But…where'd she go?" Buttercup wondered.

"Maybe she went into a room," Blossom suggested. She flew to the closest door and knocked on it, calling out, "Hello? Anyone there?" There was no response, so she moved to the next door and repeated. Buttercup started knocking on the doors on the other side of the hall.

"I don't get it," Buttercup huffed angrily as none of the doors gave a reply. "Where'd she run off to?" She finally gave up on the doors and focused on the walls of the hallway, using her x-ray vision to see into the rooms. Blossom was doing the same.

"Still no sign of her," Blossom said, then she blinked a few times as her vision became sort of blurry. She closed her eyes and rubbed them, adding, "I must be even more tired than I thought…I can't keep my x-ray vision going."

"Me either," Buttercup said, rubbing one eye. "I don't wanna go to sleep yet, though…I wanna know what's going on. You saw the woman too, so I know I'm not seein' things."

Blossom nodded, and Buttercup turned towards one of the doors, reaching for the doorknob. As she did, Blossom suddenly saw something…it struck her almost like a flashback, or a premonition. For a moment, the hallway had changed…the lamps on the wall burned with candlelight instead of electricity, but everything else seemed to be similar. The room number of the door Buttercup had been reaching towards was the same, only now, she saw a middle-aged man wearing a long brown coat and a hat, reaching for the door similarly to the way Buttercup had been. When his hand grasped the doorknob, a gunshot rang out from the room, a bullet splintering through the door. A red stain of blood covered the opposite wall, and the man stumbled, falling down…

Snapping out of it, everything suddenly returned to normal. It must have all happened in an instant, because she saw Buttercup still reaching for the doorknob. Without a moment's hesitation, Blossom flew forward with a cry, slamming into Buttercup and tackling her away from the door. They both landed on the ground in a heap.

Buttercup grunted in surprise, "Blossom, what's the matter with you?"

"I…" Blossom started to say, then realized that she must have been seeing things. "I…thought there was…I mean…I had a weird feeling, like something was wrong with the door…"

"C'mon, it's just an empty room," Buttercup said. "What could possibly be wrong with it?"

Blossom was quiet for a moment, and said, "I don't know…something's not right here, and I don't like it…I think we should just get back to the Professor."

"But what about the woman?" Buttercup asked.

"She obviously doesn't want to be found," Blossom told her. "If she even exists."

Buttercup waved a hand and said, "You saw her, she's real!"

Blossom nodded, "Yes, but I'm also tired…I could have been seeing things, as so could you. I just think we should get back and get some sleep, all right?"

Buttercup was about to protest, then she sighed and said, "Fine…" The two of them started flying back to the stairway they came from, and Buttercup thought, _I saw her…I know I did…I saw her twice! She's real, she's got to be…but what's she doing here?_

* * *

Back in room 309, Bubbles sat on the edge of the bed, staring worriedly at the door. She fidgited and said, "Where are they? They're taking a long time…"

"It's a big hotel," the professor said. "There's a lot to look at. Besides, your sisters can take care of themselves. They'll be fine. It's getting late, though…they should be back so they can get to bed."

Bubbles yawned and laid back on the bed, "I'm tired…"

The professor headed for the light switch and said, "Do you want to go to sleep now? We don't have to wait for the girls…"

"Okay, if you think so," she said, pulling the bedsheets over herself.

Nodding, the professor turned off the lights. The room immediately became pitch black…no light shined in even from under the door. Bubbles let out a brief, frightened whine, but the professor said, "It's all right…I'm right here."

"Thank you…g'night, Professor…" Bubbles said softly.

"Good night, Bubbles," the professor replied, making his way back to his own bed. Bubbles sighed and closed her eyes, starting to fall asleep, thinking, _The girls can look at the hotel all they want, but I'm tired, and I just wanna get some sleep…_

No sooner did she closer he eyes, though, then she heard a loud *_thump* _against the door. Her eyes flew open, and she clutched the bedsheets, whispering, "P-professor? Someone's at the door…"

"It's probably the girls," he said, and waited. After about half a minute, with no more sound, he said, "Or maybe not…hold on, I'll go check…" He fumbled around in the dark to get back to his feet , then walked over and turned on the lights.

They both immediately saw something was different…the décor room they were in had changed. The walls were paneled with wood instead of with wallpaper, and all of the paintings were missing, although there was a new one up of a large clipper ship sailing across the ocean. The beds had even changed, looking much older and less fancy than they had before. All of their bags were also missing.

Bubbles glanced around in confusion and said, "Wh…what happened?"

"I…don't know…" the professor said, gaping at the room. "This is impossible…" Everything he knew about logic told him that there was no way the room could change this drastically in such a short time, even if someone had set it all up that way. Remembering the sound he heard at the door, he slowly cracked it open slightly to peer outside.

Lying against the door was a disheveled man dressed in rags, passed out, the scent of alcohol permeating the air. Startled at seeing someone else in the hotel, the professor slammed the door shut, leaning up against it…his breathing quickened a little. Bubbles saw his reaction and flew out of bed, over to him, asking, "What's wrong?"

Realizing that the man might be hurt, the professor very cautiously opened the door again to take a look at him. The man was no longer there…Bubbles peeked over his shoulder as he glanced down each direction of the hallway outside the door. "I…thought I saw someone…" he said.

Bubbles said, "Was it Mr. Fenton? He's the only other p—…" She interrupted her own speech as she turned around, with a surprised shriek. The professor quickly turned to look back into the room…everything was back the way it was before it had changed. The paintings were even back on the wall, in the right places, and all their bags were where they should have been.

The professor was at a loss for words. _We only turned our backs for a second,_ he thought…_What on Earth is going on here? All right, that's it…I'm going to go find that Mr. Fenton and demand an explanation right away. And where are the girls? They should have been back by now…I hope they're safe…_

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Blossom asked, following Buttercup down the corridors of the hotel. They had started back, but after a flight of stairs and several turns in the hallway, she no longer recognized where they were.

"I'm positive," Buttercup replied. "It's _gotta_ be the right way…"

Blossom frowned, "Admit it, we're lost…"

"Okay, okay," Buttercup said, throwing her arms in the air in frustration. "We're lost. But the place can't be that big, so if we just keep going in one direction, we'll make our way out, right?"

"Right," Blossom replied. They passed down some more halls, and made some more turns, but tried to keep going in the same general direction. As they continued, Blossom was looking at the doors and said, "Wait a second…do you see anything strange?"

Buttercup stopped her flying and asked, "No, what?"

"Look," Blossom said, pointing at the door. "Check out the number…"

Looking at the number plate on the door, it read 413. "That's…wait, that's the third floor! But we went down the stairs, didn't we?"

"Yeah…so either we somehow got up to the third floor again," Blossom guessed, "or else these rooms are just numbered badly. Either way, I…"

Her talking was interrupted by a loud, piercing scream. It wasn't Bubbles or the Professor, and it didn't sound much like Mr. Fenton either. Blossom thought, _It must be that woman we saw!_ Buttercup must have heard it as well, because she said, "Hurry, it came from this way!" and flew off quickly down the hall. Blossom stayed right behind her, thinking, _We need to get to the bottom of this right away…this is becoming really weird…_

**__**

TO BE CONTINUED…


	2. Past Echoes

**__**

What Once Was

By: Mark J. Hadley

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CHAPTER 2: "Past Echoes"

The professor headed down the large stairway that emptied back into the lobby. Bubbles was close behind him, although she wouldn't leave the room without taking Octi with her, which she held in her arms as she followed. Neither of them had changed out of their sleepwear. They didn't have the time to do so…the professor wanted an explanation for what had happened in their room _now_.

He rang the bell on the desk, and after a few moments, Mr. Fenton arrived and said cheerfully, "Ah yes, is there something I can help you with?"

"There certainly is," the professor said with a frown. He quickly described what happened to them back upstairs, and Mr. Fenton listened carefully, his cheerful expression fading a little. As he concluded his description, the professor asked, "Now what in blazes is going on?"

Mr. Fenton sighed, "Oh well, I suppose you were bound to find out sooner or later. We've…err…had a few problems like this in the past. Crazy rumors that the hotel is haunted…"

"H-haunted?" Bubbles whispered. She clutched Octi a little tighter.

"Yes, but they're just rumors, mind you," Mr. Fenton explained. "I'd rather you not go spreading these rumors around yourself; it's _extremely _bad for business. Although there _is_, confidentially, very strong reasons for it to be true…"

"Such as?" the professor asked.

"Hotel Vananda's history, mostly," Mr. Fenton said. "It's been around for a long time, and there have been more than a few deaths that occurred over the years within these very walls. That's not even including everything that might have happened before our records were kept. Before the hotel opened as such, it was many other things in the past…the building was used as a hospital during the Civil War, and long before that, there used to be a monastery at this site, just to name a few."

"Hmm…" the professor said, scratching his chin. "I see…"

"Professor?" Bubbles said, tugging on his arm, "I wanna go…I don't wanna sleep in a haunted house…"

Mr. Fenton smiled again and said, "Don't worry about it…what few incidents have been reported in the past have been rare. I'm sure you'll be fine for the evening."

"Okay, but if it happens again, I'm going to demand a refund," the professor said firmly.

"Yes sir," Mr. Fenton said, dropping his eyes. "I understand."

The professor nodded and turned around to start heading back upstairs. Bubbles followed him closely behind, saying, "Professor, do we have to stay here? If it's haunted…"

"Honey, like he said, there's nothing to worry about," he said, pulling out their room key as they approached the door. "Probably nothing else will happen."

"Okay…" Bubbles said, not entirely convinced. The professor put the key in the lock as Bubbles looked off down the hallway, wondering aloud, "Maybe we should go look for Blossom and Buttercup, what do you think?"

When she turned back to face the door, however, the professor was no longer there. This startled her, as she hadn't heard the door open. Reaching down and grasping the doorknob, she tried it, only to find it still locked. "Professor?" she shouted.

No response came. Bubbles tried to see into the room with her x-ray vision, but saw nothing but a haze. _Why isn't it working?_ she thought. "Professor…? Hello?" she shouted again. Again, no response, and now she started to feel afraid…_Where is he? Wh-what's going on?_

The lights in the hall dimmed suddenly, and she cried out in shock. They flickered a few times, then went out entirely. Octi fell from her hands, and she took off down the now nearly pitch-black hallway in a panic, not even caring where she went…

* * *

"Ugh…there's just no _end _to this place!" Buttercup exclaimed as she and Blossom flew quickly down the corridors, non-stop. Every turn they made seemed to just lead to another long hallway; they couldn't even find the stairs anymore.

"The scream came from this way," Blossom said. "I'm sure of it, we're not far…"

When they rounded the next corner, they both came to a stop. Halfway down the hall, they saw a woman slumped up against the wall. The front of her was turned away from them, but even from behind, they could tell by the red hair that she was the same one they had seen, and the same one Buttercup had seen at the window earlier. She sounded like she was crying.

Blossom and Buttercup exchanged a glance to each other. _I knew it, _Buttercup thought, _I'm not crazy, we actually saw her!_ Both of them warily moved closer, and Blossom asked gently, "Are you all right, ma'am?"

The woman looked up as they approached, and they both gasped in alarm…there was a huge slit on her throat, and blood was covering the front of her dress from it. With a wound like that, she shouldn't have been alive, yet she didn't even seem to notice it. Tears filled her eyes and she said in a panic, "Help me! H-he's trying to kill me! Don't let him g-get me!!"

Blossom could barely form any words at this sight, but managed to say, "What the…"

Bounding up from the ground suddenly, the woman reached out and grabbed Blossom by the front of her dress in desperation, shaking her and yelling, "You've got to do something! _HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!!_"

"Lady, calm down!" Buttercup said, reaching over to put a hand on her shoulder and hold her back, "Who's trying to kill…you…" She trailed off, and just stared in awe. The woman was no longer there. One moment, she was in front of Blossom, and the next, she was gone, in the blink of an eye.

Blossom didn't even know what to think, "But…but she…"

"…What the heck's going on…?" Buttercup whispered, equally stunned.

"There's got to be a reason for this," Blossom said. "There's just got to. Maybe it was just an illusion…I know, both of us saw her, but…but she can't have just…"

"I don't think we were seeing things," Buttercup said, pointing at Blossom's dress, "Look…"

Looking down, Blossom saw bloodstains on her dress from where the woman grabbed her. Cringing, she touched it with her hand…it was real, and it was still wet, even. She raised her hand up shakily, staring at the blood that was now on it. It didn't disappear, like she half-expected, but remained as real as before.

Buttercup watched her stare silently at her hand, and asked "Blossom?"

After a few more moments of silence, Blossom finally said, "We need to find the professor…right now…"

* * *

Professor Utonium was a little fascinated by this whole thing. Even though he figured in the back of his head that all this nonsense about ghosts was untrue, it still intrigued him. _If only I had more time to study this, _he thought as he inserted the key into the door to their room.

The key wouldn't turn, though. Surprised by this, he tried again, and it still remained locked. He glanced up at the room number to make sure he was in the right place, but saw that the number plate read 392 instead of 309. "Hmm…I don't know how we got off-track, Bubbles, but…"

It was then that he noticed she was nowhere in sight. "Bubbles?" he called out. He waited for a response, but there wasn't one. _Where did she run off to? She should know better than that. Maybe she went back to the lobby…_ He turned around and looked for the staircase that lead back downstairs…

It wasn't there…he found a staircase leading upwards, but not back down. Confused, he climbed the stairs and continued to call out, "Bubbles? Can you hear me? Bu—…"

He broke off as he suddenly became aware of something: music coming from upstairs. It was faint, but unmistakable. He reached the top of the staircase, which ended in a single door. The music was definitely coming from the other side of the door. He carefully opened it up and peeked inside.

The door led to a large ballroom. Lights from the corner of the room lit everything up brightly, and both the walls and the ceiling of the room were mirrored, making it look a lot larger than it actually was. A chandelier, consisting of a large number of reflective crystals, hung in the center of the room. The dance floor was polished brightly, and none of the mirrors had any smudges on them either.

The room wasn't what immediately grabbed his attention, though…it was the large crowd of people _inside_ the room. Couples were dancing out on the ballroom floor, while others sat at tables scattered around the edges, or sat up at the bar off to one side. The slow dance music that filled the air came from a small jazz band on a raised platform to one side.

While the professor gaped at the room, a man in a suit nearby strode up to him and said, "Welcome back to the party, sir. I trust you are enjoying yourself?" The professor just stared silently back, and the man continued, not even seeming to notice that the professor was still in his sleepwear, "May I get you something to drink?"

"Uh…no, no that's all right," the professor answered. The man in the suit nodded and returned to his position off to the side. The professor thought, _This can't be…these people shouldn't be here. It's absolutely amazing! I'd say this goes far beyond just a simple haunting…this is an amazing phenomenon!_

He started walking towards the bar, when a gunshot rang out, shattering one of the ceiling mirrors. Everyone screamed and lay flat, covering their heads…the professor was stunned, but followed suit. A man wearing a tuxedo was still standing in the center of the ballroom, a smoking gun held over his head. His face looked like it was filled with a mixture of anger and amusement…clearly, he wasn't in his right mind.

"_Quiet!_" he yelled across the ballroom, and everyone fell silent. "Thanks…now that I got yer attention…it's time ta wrap this party _up!_ Say goodnight, everybody!" He pulled his tuxedo jacket open, and revealed several sticks of dynamite strapped around his chest and waist.

Panic set in the crowd again as everyone started running for the doors. The man was already reaching for the detonator, though. The professor was frozen to the spot, though, and was thinking, _It's all just an illusion, it's just the ghosts, it can't hurt you…_ He instinctively threw his arms up in front of his face, though, as the man clicked the detonator and erupted in a ball of flame that expanded outward quickly, filling the room and knocking the professor off his feet…

* * *

Bubbles flew blindly down hallway after hallway. It was dark and scary, and she just knew she had to get somewhere safe. Eventually, her initial panic died down, and she came to a stop…it was still quite dark, and she had no idea where she was. _It's okay, it's okay, stay calm,_ she thought…_The professor can't be far, just keep looking for him…_

She started to fly again, but suddenly found herself feeling weaker. It took some effort just to fly a few feet, before she had to land again. She leaned against the wall, panting, and thought, _What happened? First my x-ray vision, and now my flying? _This was starting to make her feel even more frightened than before. _You just need to find someplace safe,_ she told herself…_Maybe one of the rooms are unlocked, just find a light switch or something…_

She felt along the wall until she found a doorknob, and twisted it. It was unlocked, so she carefully opened the door. To her surprise, there was already light coming from inside. She shielded her eyes a little, waiting for them to adjust to the light as she walked in.

She wasn't 'inside' anymore, though. She emerged into what looked like a garden, lit by lanterns, and by the full moon overhead. There were people tending the garden as well, men in simple brown robes, with shaved heads. _Monks,_ Bubbles thought. _That Mr. Fenton said something about monks living here a long time ago. Am I…am I seeing their ghosts? _She was frightened, but none of them had made any kind of threatening movements, so she stayed where she was.

One of the monks, this one wearing a gray robe, came up to her and said, "Ah, Sister Anne…I'm glad you could make it, we need you to help Sister Mary repent her sins…"

_They think I'm someone else,_ Bubbles thought. "Umm…o-okay…" she said.

"This way," the monk said, leading her through the garden. She looked around at all the beautiful flowers the monks had planted, and it brought a smile to her face. Her fears started to subside a little, and she thought, _This isn't as bad as I thought meeting ghosts would be…I expected them to be all scary, but they're really nice…_

As she was lead further into the garden, she became aware of some screaming sounds in the distance. She gasped, but the monk assured her, "It's all right, it's just Sister Mary. They started without you already."

"Started…what?" Bubbles said, her fear starting to build again.

They came into a clearing, and Bubbles covered her mouth, stifling a cry. There was a circle of monks and a few nuns around a raised pedestal, a few of them holding down a nun flat against it. This nun was screaming and crying, as the other monks and nuns were doing things to her…torturing her, with all kinds of crude implements. Bleeding cuts covered every inch of her body, and they were just ripping her abdomen open with a large metal hook. Bubbles shook with revulsion, thinking, _Oh…my…god…_

The monk next to her seemed completely unfazed, and said, "They're waiting for your help, Sister Anne…"

Bubbles just took a step back…she felt sick, and she wanted to get out of there. "N-no…" she said, "…I can't…"

The gray monk looked at her sadly and said, "Sister Anne…I'm disappointed." Out of her peripheral vision, Bubbles suddenly noticed a circle of monks surrounding her from behind. The gray monk continued, "It would appear that you have sins you need to repent for as well…"

"What?! No!!" Bubbles said, turning and trying to run, but the monks had already closed in on her, grabbing hold of her. She struggled to get free…it should have been a piece of cake, but she felt weaker. Her strength was diminishing, too, just as her flight had…It still took a half-dozen of them to pull her to another pedestal and hold her down, but normally, it would have been easy to break free from their grasp.

As it was, she could only struggle, now almost completely panicked. "No, no! Please! It's a mistake, I'm not Sister Anne, I'm not! Let me go! _Please!_" Her pleads weren't doing any good, though, and she fell silent as the gray monk loomed over her. She bit her lip and shook uncontrollably with fear, watching him stare down at her.

"Do you repent, Sister Anne?" the monk asked.

Bubbles stammered, "R-repent? Repent what?"

The monk didn't answer…instead, he withdrew a large metal hook and slowly lowered it down to her stomach. Bubbles began breathing heavily, not taking her eyes off of it, and as it approached, she started babbling again, in tears, "No no, it's a mistake, it's a mistake, please don't, oh my god oh my god…."

She cringed as he traced the tip of the hook slowly across her stomach, scratching it lightly, but not so much as drawing a drop of blood yet. He repeated, "Do you _repent_, Sister Anne?"

At this point, Bubbles was willing to say anything…she sobbed, "_Yes, yes,_ please, I repent, I _repent_, just please…don't hurt me…"

The gray monk smiled, and lifted the hook away from her. Bubbles gave a shaky sigh of relief as he turned around and started to walk away. He spoke as he left, "She repents, my brothers and sisters…see that she dies _quickly_."

Before Bubbles could protest, she saw one of the other monks lifting a large executioner's axe above his head. Bubbles struggled, but still couldn't break free…she screamed at the top of her lungs and clenched her eyes shut as the blade swung down at her…

* * *

"Professor? Professor!" Blossom called out, as she and Buttercup continued down the endless halls. She was getting tired, and landed on the ground resting against the wall. Buttercup landed across from her and did the same, as Blossom said, "Just a few more halls…I'm sure we'll find him…"

"You said that eight halls ago," Buttercup reminded her. "I think we're going in circles…"

Shaking her head, Blossom said, "We can't be…look at the room numbers, they keep changing." As she glanced up at the door nearest to her, she saw the number 322 and said, "Wait, if we just follow these, it should lead us back to our room, 309…I hope…"

"Sounds like a plan, let's go," Buttercup said. She started to fly, but had to strain just to get a foot off the ground. She landed, panting, "Bloss…something's wrong…I can't fly…"

Blossom tried to fly, and had similar results, "I'm tired, but not _that _tired…we never had a problem flying before like this! Are we losing our powers or something?"

"It sure feels like it…" Buttercup said. She tested her legs, then ran down to the end of the hall, following the doors, "C'mon, I'm not going to wait around…we hafta keep looking for 'em…"

"Yes, definitely," Blossom agreed, running right behind her. They rounded the corner and looked down at the length of doors. Blossom pointed, "Hey! There's our room! 309!"

As they jogged quickly over, Buttercup pointed at the ground, "Look…" Blossom stopped in front of the door and reached down, picking up Octi off the ground. While she did this, Buttercup tested the door to room 309, and finding it locked, knocked on it, calling out, "Professor? Bubbles? You there?"

There was no answer, but then suddenly they heard a piercing scream down the hall. They both glanced at each other…there was no mistaking _this_ one. "Bubbles!" they said together, and immediately ran as fast as they could in the direction it came from. They rounded the end of the corridor and spotted her, lying on the floor, curled up into a little ball with her eyes clenched shut and shaking uncontrollably.

They hurried over, and Blossom gently shook her, "Bubbles? Are you okay?"

Bubbles slowly opened one eye, then started looking around in confusion, "Wh-what? Girls! But…but…"

"Where's the professor?" Buttercup asked.

"I…don't know," Bubbles said, slowly coming out of her protective ball and climbing back to her feet. "We…we got separated…after we found out the hotel was haunted…"

"Haunted?" Buttercup exclaimed. She paused as another thought occurred to her, "Bubbles, can you fly?"

"No, it stopped working," Bubbles said. "My super-strength is going away now, too…"

_Uh oh, _Blossom thought. _This is not good…why are we losing our powers? Maybe it has something to do with these ghosts…whatever the reason, all I know is that we need to find the professor and get out of this place as soon as possible! I don't want to spend another minute here…_

As she was thinking this, images suddenly flashed before her eyes…she saw each of them as clearly as though they were right in front of her. One of them was Buttercup, covered with bleeding cuts and slumped against a wall, unmoving. Another was of Bubbles, lying on her stomach with blood on her back and in a pool around her on the ground, and reaching up weakly. Another was the Professor, clutching a bloodied arm and limping as fast as he could as though he were trying to run, with his leg twisted at an unnatural angle. Then she saw herself…hanging upside-down, her skin looking like it had been ripped off, drops of blood falling from her…

Blossom screamed, falling to her knees and covering her eyes, trying to shut the images out. Bubbles and Buttercup both gasped and came to her sides, saying, "Blossom! Are you all right?" The images had stopped, but Blossom wouldn't open her eyes…she thought, _W-was that just an illusion? Or…or is it a premonition? Did I j-just see…the future? Oh god…we're going to die here…_

**__**

TO BE CONTINUED…


	3. Of No Return

**_What Once Was_**

**By:  Mark J. Hadley**

*          *            *

**CHAPTER 3: "Of No Return"**

            The professor slowly opened his eyes, groaning, as he stiffly tried to sit up.  He remembered what had happened…the explosion.  It must have been just an illusion as he had thought, or else he wouldn't be alive right now.  That filled him with a little more relief, as he knew now that the ghosts couldn't harm them.

            He got his bearings finally, and took a look at his surroundings.  He was unmistakably in the same ballroom as before, but it was a wreck.  Everything was singed black, and all the mirrors were cracked and broken.  The chandelier had collapsed on the ground in the middle of the ballroom floor.  Most importantly, though, it looked as if it had been this way for some time.  Dust and cobwebs covered everything, and a few of the doors leading out had been boarded off.

            Weakly, he got back up to his feet and headed for the door.  He paused for a moment next to a broken piece of mirror that was still clean enough to show his reflection, and examined himself.  His skin was a deeper red color, and covered with black soot.  _Maybe I was a little hasty,_ he thought grimly.  _These ghosts can seem to affect us.  I think I had better find the girls and get out of this hotel with them right away…_

*          *            *

            Blossom babbled hysterically, telling the girls what she had seen in her premonition.  She was afraid, for all of them.  As Bubbles and Buttercup listened, they were disturbed by it as well, but Buttercup said, "The ghosts are just tryin' to mess with you…don't believe 'em, we'll get out of here all right."

            "O-okay…" Blossom said, getting back to her feet.  She was still trembling a little.

            "We'll be okay if we stick together," Bubbles said, grabbing each of their hands.

            "That's a good idea," Blossom agreed, holding on tightly to Bubbles' hand.  "Girls, don't let go for _anything,_ all right?"

            Buttercup nodded, "Yeah.  But it doesn't matter, 'cause I don't think the ghosts can really hurt us anyway…"

            Bubbles said, "Yeah, but…they…they were really close to doing it to me…this one, he had a hook, an' he was gonna…"  She put her hand on her stomach as she spoke, "I was so afraid an'…_ow!_"

            "What?" Blossom asked, alarmed.

            Bubbles felt the same spot on her stomach…it felt sore.  She checked under her nightgown with her hand, across her stomach, and gasped as her hand traced a long scratch across it.  It was in the same position as the one that the ghost had made with the hook.  She felt a small surge of fear as she whispered, "Oh my god…they…they _can _hurt us…"

            "Bubbles, what…" Buttercup began, and then abruptly, one of the doors on the side of the hall flew open, next to where Buttercup was standing…an invisible force, almost like an extremely heavy wind, seized her and pulled her inside.  The door slammed shut behind her.

This happened in only a second, barely giving time for the other girls to react.  Bubbles, realizing that she had let go of Buttercup's hand in order to feel the scratch on her stomach, rushed to the door and pounded on it, yelling, "Buttercup!"  She didn't let go of Blossom's hand though.

            _What do we do?_ Blossom thought…_Oh, I wish the Professor was here!  _"Bubbles, we've gotta find the Professor, now!"

            "But…what about Buttercup…?" Bubbles protested.

            Blossom tugged on her arm, "She'll be okay…we need to find the Professor, then all of us can get out of here…all right?  Buttercup can take care of herself, and the ghosts won't hurt her…"

            "But they _can!_" Bubbles shouted.  "They hurt _me!_"

            Blossom hesitated, thinking, then said, "You're right.  Let's wait here, but we still need to see if we can get the Professor's attention…"  She took a deep breath and started calling out, "_Professor?  Where are you?  Professor!_"  Bubbles joined in on the calls, but never took her eyes off the door for a second…if it moved at all, she would be ready…

*          *            *

            The professor rushed down the stairs, and back into the corridors.  He looked at the nearest room number, 104, to get his bearing, then started following the numbers down the hallway.  _If I follow the numbers,_ he thought, _then I'm sure not to accidentally double back.  If there's another staircase, I'll find it…_

            As he continued, he reached up to room 121 before slowing down and stopping, giving that door a stare., peering closely at the numbers.  _Wait a minute,_ he realized…_Mr. Fenton said that the room numbering began in the 200's…there _are _no 100-level rooms!  Where on Earth am I?_

            He heard a sound coming from the far end of the hall, and someone ran around the corner.  The man was about the professor's height, wearing a leather jacket and jeans, and styled black hair, heavy on the hair gel.  He had a knife in hand and was just yelling as he charged in the professor's direction, not saying or doing anything else.

            _Just a ghost,_ the professor said, not moving an inch.  _Just a ghost, it can't hurt you…_

            The man reached him, and pulling back the knife, he plunged it into the professor's left shoulder.  The professor gave a startled cry of pain, falling to his knees, and the man continued to run down the hallway, disappearing at the far end behind the professor, who clutched his shoulder, blood seeping out around his fingers.

            It was real…or at least as real as it could become, because when he felt the spot the next moment, the knife was gone, although the wound remained.  He got back to his feet and tried to move his left arm…wincing in pain, he clutched his shoulder and just held it while he pressed onward down the hallway.

            He heard something ahead of him at that moment, faint voices.  Staying still and listening carefully, he was able to make them out a little more…they were calling for him.  _The girls! _he thought.  _Oh, thank goodness…I'd better get over there right away…_  He started off in their direction, shouting, "Girls?"

*          *            *

            Buttercup stumbled, disoriented by her sudden pull into the room, tripping and landing hard on her right knee.  She cringed and grabbed it…_Well, there goes our super toughness, _she thought.  _Great…just great…can this get any worse?_

            She heard voices around her, and finally got a look at her surroundings.  She was in a very long room, lined with beds, and men wearing blue military uniforms occupied most of them.  They were all wounded in one way or another…many of them were bandaged up, some were missing arms or legs.  A number of them were also crying out in pain or calling for help.  Other people, probably makeshift doctors or nurses, went from bed to bed, checking on them.

            Buttercup recognized the outfits they wore…though she didn't study history all that much, she _did_ occasionally read books about war from time to time.  _Those are Civil War uniforms,_ she thought.  _Was this hotel used as a hospital way back then?_

            She barely had a chance to take a step forward, when two of the doctors rushed up to grab her arms and help her along, "Don't worry, soldier!  We've got you…you'll be all right…"

            "Soldier?" she said.  _They think I'm one of the soldiers, _she thought.  "No, no, I'm fine, I…" she started to tell them.

            They ignored her and hoisted her up on an empty bed.  One of the doctors examined her right leg, and said, "Looks bad…Smith, bring me my tools, quickly, we need to amputate…"

            Buttercup went pale…_Amputate?!_ she thought with some alarm.  She quickly said, "No…no, I'm okay, look…"  She tried to move her leg to show them it was fine, but the doctor was still holding it in place.

            More doctors came over and grabbed hold of her arms to hold her down.  One of them put a leather strap in her mouth and said, "Bite down on this, it'll make it easier…"

            "No!  Wait…mmph!" Buttercup tried to protest, until the leather strap was put between her teeth.  Her eyes widened in panic as they wrapped a tourniquet around her leg, and the doctor pulled out a hacksaw.  She was breathing heavily, but tried to force herself to calm down, thinking, _They're just ghosts…none of this is happening, nothing's going to happen to you, it'll be all right, you'll be okay…_

            The doctor brought down the saw, and the teeth cut into her leg.  She yelped at the unexpected pain, and had only a split second to realize in horror just what that meant.  The doctor continued, beginning to saw…every muscle in Buttercup's body tensed up, and she screamed, her teeth clamping down on the leather strap in her mouth and muffling it.  Her whole body felt like it was wracked with pain as the sawing continued, and she thrashed, trying to get free, but with no luck as the doctors held her down.  Tears streamed from her clenched eyes as her mind raced, _Oh god stop it stop it please stop it I'll do anything just make it stop please!!_

            After not even a minute, but what seemed like an eternity, the sawing finally halted, but the pain was still there.  They all started wrapping the area with bandages, and Buttercup lifted her head weakly, trying to see through her tear-filled eyes, and gaped at the stump where her right leg used to be.  _No this isn't happening this is a dream it has to be…_

            Buttercup closed her eyes again, squeezing the tears from it, and cried even more.  Only for a moment, though, because she became aware that the sounds of the hospital had disappeared.  Her eyes flew open again and she looked around.  The hospital was indeed gone, and she recognized where she was now: lying on the bed back in the original room they had checked into.  Their bags were still there and everything.

            She was about to give a sigh of relief, but then she realized that her leg still hurt.  Sitting up on the bed, she glanced down and gasped in horror.  Her right leg was still missing, with the stump still bandaged up.  She felt the spot where it once was, her hand pressing against the bed instead, and whispered, "Oh…god…oh god, oh god…"

*          *            *

            Blossom and Bubbles continued to call out for the professor, until Blossom suddenly waved her arm and said, "Wait!  Shh…"  Bubbles went silent and listened along with Blossom…sure enough, from somewhere further down the maze of halls, they could hear a faint voice.  _If only my ultrasonic hearing still worked, _Blossom thought.  It got louder, though, and they could make out a voice saying, "…Girls?…"

            "Professor!" Blossom shouted back.  "Over here!"

            A few moments later, the professor rounded the corner, jogging in their direction.  He was clutching his shoulder, with a trickle of blood running down his arm, and he looked a little singed, like he had been through a fire.  His expression brightened when he saw them, and he said, "Girls!  You're all right, thank goodness!  When Bubbles disappeared, I didn't know what to think…"

            "Are you all right, Professor?" Blossom asked, giving a concerned look at his shoulder.

            "I'll be okay…" he said.  "Where's Buttercup?"

            "She got pulled through this door," Bubbles told him.  "We're waiting to see if she comes back out, 'cause it's locked."

            Raising an eyebrow, the professor asked, "Can't you just break the door down?"

            "Something happened to us," Blossom said.  "Our powers are getting weaker!  They're almost completely gone now…I don't know what's going on!"

            "Hmm…" The professor thought about this, and said, "Your powers are diminishing, while the ghosts themselves are getting stronger…maybe your power is feeding them, somehow.  If this is the case, then perhaps they'll return to you once we leave the hotel.  We need to find…"

            He stopped suddenly, as the three of them became aware of a sound not far down the hall, the sound of someone shrieking loudly.  "B-…Buttercup?!" Bubbles exclaimed.  Without wasting another moment, the professor and the girls rushed in the direction of the crying, stopping in front of its source: room 309.

            They swung the door open and found Buttercup lying on one of the beds.  She was crying hysterically, something the girls had rarely seen from her in the past.  "Buttercup!"  Blossom said, "What's wro—…"  She trailed off as she spotted her leg…or lack thereof.  In a low, shaky voice, she said, "…oh my god…"

            "Buttercup!" Bubbles cried out, running to the side of the bed and hugging her tightly, "Wh-what happened?"  The professor came to the side of the bed as well, grimly examining her injury.

            Buttercup was too shaken to talk about it…instead, she looked up at the professor, eyes teary, and said, "Professor…w-we…we gotta get outta here….p-please…"

            "Hang on, sweetie," he said firmly.  "You'll be all right…we'll get you to safety…"

            "_Nowhere_ _in this place is safe!_" Buttercup cried out, then started to break down into tears again.  "We've gotta…get out…we've…gotta…"

            Blossom turned to the professor and said, "We know how to get to the front door from this room…I say we leave _right _now."

            "Agreed," the professor said.  "Blossom, start packing our bags right away.  Bubbles, you help her…"  He stopped for a moment as he noticed Bubbles wasn't paying attention.  "Bubbles?"

            Bubbles' eyes seemed sort of glazed over, not focusing on anything, and she just stood there, unmoving.  Blossom moved over to her and waved a hand in front of her face, but she gave no reaction.  She gently shook her shoulder and said, "Bubbles?  Are you okay?  Say something!"

            All of a sudden, she snapped into motion like a film that had been paused…but she acted strangely, looking totally at ease.  She spoke with a heavy southern accent, "This sho' is a lovely place…ah wish ah could stay heah forevah!"

            The professor stared at her, saying, "Bubbles?"  Buttercup, although still in tears, gave Bubbles a confused glance as well, as did Blossom.

            Bubbles frowned a little at their stares and said, "What's wrong?  Don't y'all know yo' own cousin Bonnie?"  She started walking towards the door, with a more dainty stride than usual, and said, "Now, hurry…Uncle Andrew should be heah any time, and y'all know how he likes t' have someone theah to greet him…"

            Everyone just watched her as she approached the door and reached up to take hold of the doorknob.  When she did, she suddenly blinked her eyes and shook her head, and in her normal tone of voice, whispered, "What…what happened?"

            "You started talking all strange," Blossom told her.  "Do you remember?"

            "I…" Bubbles hesitated.  "I…sorta…remember, but not very well.  I was listening to the professor, and then…I felt cold, and then everything just started going on its own, like I was watching it on TV.  It was all blurry though…"

            The professor scooped Buttercup up from the bed, holding her in his arms, and said, "It must be the ghosts…we'd better go _now_, before something like that happens again.  Forget packing…the sooner we leave, the better."

            They left the room hastily, heading down the hall towards the stairs.  Thankfully, it was where it should have been.  The foyer was a welcome sight to them after all their previous wandering, and they crossed it quickly, rounding the bend and heading for the front doors, glad to finally be leaving.  What they saw made them come to a halt, however.  Blossom approached the wall where the doors used to be.  There was nothing unusual about the wall itself; the door just wasn't there, almost like it was never put there in the first place.  The windows were similarly missing.

She leaned up against the wall right where the doors were, and said, "No…"  She clenched her teeth, and then her eyes, and pounded on the wall, shouting louder, "_NO!  This isn't fair!!_"

            Buttercup, from the professor's arms, stammered, "They're…not gonna l-let us leave…a-are they?"

            Blossom pounded on the wall a few more times, then let herself slide down, crumpling to the ground next to it and crying.  She didn't know what to do…now that her powers were all but gone, she felt less like a superhero and more like what she really was in this situation: a scared little girl.  The situation seemed hopeless to her…in a low, barely audible voice, she whispered, "…we're gonna die…we're gonna die…"

            It looked like Bubbles couldn't take it either…she fell to her knees and started crying as well, and seeming to talk to the hotel in general, "Don't do this…please…I wanna go home…please…just let us go…"

            The professor, still holding Buttercup, set his expression firmly and turned around, walking straight for the front desk.  He rang the bell furiously with his free hand and shouted, "Mr. Fenton!  A word with you, _right now!_"

            It took a few moments, but Mr. Fenton emerged from the back room, walking up cheerfully to the desk, "Yes, can I help you?"

            "How do we leave the hotel?" the professor asked.

            "Why, through the front doors," he said, indicating the blank wall where the front doors were.  The professor noticed that he seemed oblivious to the fact they were missing, as well as the injuries he and Buttercup were showing.  Mr. Fenton continued, "Is that all?

            Shaking his head, the professor asked, "Is there another way out?"

            "Certainly," Mr. Fenton replied.  "Why do you ask?"

            "Where is it?" the professor demanded strongly.

            A look of mild annoyance crossed Mr. Fenton's face, and he said with some forced cordiality, "Might I inquire as to what this is all about?"

            "The ghosts, Fenton," the professor answered, then stopped to think for a moment.  "Why don't they bother you?  You seem to be perfectly at ease living in a haunted building…"

            "Because I've never _seen_ these so-called 'ghosts'," Mr. Fenton said.  "As far as I'm concerned, they're just a rumor made-up by our guests, perhaps to drive other customers away for some unfathomable reason…"

            "Listen!" the professor said, growing a little angry.  "There's no possible way you could be immune to all of this…which leads me to believe you're somehow _responsible_ for it.  Are you doing something to call these spirits forth?  Tell me!"

            Mr. Fenton looked shocked, "Now, see here!  I am _not_ in the business of driving customers _away_ from my establishment!  I run a _respectable_ business here, and quite frankly, if you're going to start trouble, then I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

            From the professor's arms, Buttercup gave a weary chuckle, "Heh…believe me, there's nothing I'd like to do more."

            "Then do so, before I call the authorities," Mr. Fenton instructed them.

            "Authorities?" the professor said with some disbelief.  "_Look_ at us…if anything, _you_ should be the one to answer for our condition!"

            Mr. Fenton looked thoroughly confused, "What condition?"

            The professor indicated his arm, then Buttercup's missing leg, "Are you blind?"

            "You're mad," Mr. Fenton.  "I see nothing wrong with you at all…"

            As they were arguing, Blossom started to walk back towards them from the wall, and glanced up at the portrait of Mr. Fenton that was hanging over the desk.  She squinted, as she saw some text underneath it, trying to read it.  It was written in a fancy script, and kind of blurry from this distance, but she finally made it out:  "HARVY FENTON, 1945 – 1997."  _But,_ she thought…_that means…_

            She stared at Mr. Fenton, and suddenly, he just vanished entirely, still in mid-sentence.  The professor's jaw dropped when it happened, and Bubbles suddenly shrieked…they spun around and saw the rest of the foyer, only now it looked different…old, decrepit, and far from the pristine condition it was previously in.  Cobwebs hung from everything.  Though the paintings were still up, they were hanging crookedly, and were quite dusty themselves.  The front doors and windows were completely boarded off with heavy planks of wood, bolted in place.  The only light that came into the foyer now was a few streams of moonlight between the boards over the windows…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	4. Despair

**_What Once Was_**

**By:  Mark J. Hadley**

*          *            *

**CHAPTER 4: "Despair"**

            "This can't be happening," Blossom said aloud to herself from where she sat on the dusty floor, her voice echoing in the almost complete darkness of the foyer.  "This can't be happening…this can't be happening…"  Bubbles was clutching onto her arm, just as afraid as she was.  With the façade gone, they knew the truth: that the hotel had been abandoned for a while now, and that Harvey Fenton was just another one of the countless spirits who inhabited the ruins of this place…

            The professor, in the meantime, had laid Buttercup carefully down on the ground, and was trying to pry the boards off from the front door.  It was no good…they were bolted on tight.  "I've got to find a crowbar or something," the professor said.  "There's got to be _something_ around with which I can break open the door…"

            "No, it's no good, Professor," Blossom said, shaking her head.  "They…won't let us go…there's no way out…"

            Buttercup agreed, closing her eyes, "We've had it…i-it's all over…"

            "Wait!" Bubbles exclaimed, brightening up a little.  "What about the other way out, the one Mr. Fenton mentioned?  Can't we get out that way?"

            Everyone looked at her, and Blossom almost laughed, "You're going to trust the word of a ghost?"

            "He still thought he was a real person," Bubbles pointed out.  "Maybe he was telling the truth."

            The professor stopped tugging at the boards and thought about this.  He said, "You know, Bubbles is right…I've noticed that the ghosts seem to be staying 'in-character', as it were.  If the ghost of Mr. Fenton says there's another way out, then there probably is."

            Blossom leapt back to her feet, "Then let's look for it!  The sooner we find it, the better!"  She grabbed Bubbles' arm, and started towards the door to the back room, pulling her along.

            "Hold on!  Don't split up…wait for us," the professor quickly said.  He turned to pick up Buttercup, but gasped in shock…she was missing.  He had left her at a certain spot on the ground, but now that spot was completely empty.  _Oh no,_ he thought, and quickly called out, "Buttercup?  Where are you?  Can you hear me?"

            Blossom stopped, one hand on the doorknob and the other still holding onto Bubbles'.  She turned back to the professor and said, "What?  Where is she?  She was right there, wasn't…"  The door she was standing next to swung open abruptly before she can finished, and with a scream from both of them, Blossom and Bubbles were pulled inside.  The door slammed shut behind them, and the professor was horrified to hear the click of a door lock.

            _What do I do?_ the professor thought, now alone.  _I've got to look for them…_  He started off towards one of the lower halls, hoping to find a way around to where Blossom and Bubbles were, calling out, "Girls?  Girls!!"

*          *            *

            "I'm right here, Professor!" Buttercup shouted, but it was obvious he couldn't hear her.  She didn't understand why they didn't see her…she hadn't moved from that spot.  Yet, they stared directly at her, but saw nothing.  Her leg still throbbed with pain, and she cried out, "_I'm right here!_" one last time, but the professor disappeared into one of the hallways, still unhearing.

            All around her were the thick cobwebs of the foyer, in the almost absolute darkness.  Normally, stuff like this didn't bother her, but she shivered in fear.  _If they were able to do this to me, _she thought, _what else could they do?  I don't wanna find out!_  With lack of anything better to do, she flipped over onto her stomach and started crawling in the direction that the professor had run off.

            "Stupid people," a voice grumbled from behind her, causing her to freeze in terror, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up.  Looking back slowly over her shoulder, she saw a tall man, with thick gray hair and a beard, dressed in simple jeans and a white t-shirt…except, both the jeans and the shirt were splattered with drops of blood.  A large kitchen knife was in his hand, also dripping with blood.  The man was pacing, and it looked like he was talking to himself, "Good fer nothin'…none of 'em ever done anything fer you…waste o' space, waste o' air…"

            Buttercup bit her lip, trying not to make a sound, as she resumed crawling silently, in hopes of not attracting his attention.  He continued to rant to himself, and Buttercup didn't look back, inching her way toward the hall, painstakingly slow.  _You can make it,_ she thought.  _Just don't look back…keep going…_

            "YOU!" the man suddenly called out.  Buttercup stopped crawling, tensing up…she heard the man's heavy footfalls as he walked closer to her.  "_You_ know what I'm talkin' about, dontcha?  Y'understand they _had_ t'die, _all_ of 'em!"  Buttercup looked shakily back over her shoulder at him.  He was standing over her now, waving the knife and his free hand in the air as though to accentuate what he was saying, "Well?  Dontcha think so?!"

            "I…" Buttercup said, but that's all she could manage…she didn't want to accidentally say anything to set this guy off…

            "You people think yer all high an' mighty!" he growled.  "But I know how y'really are…worthless _nothings!_"  He gritted his teeth and stared down at Buttercup, "Are y'listening ta me?"

            Buttercup stayed silent for a moment, but then said, "I…I don't…"

            "_Are y'lisetning?!_" he yelled, suddenly swinging the knife.  It clipped her on the cheek, and Buttercup cried out…it left a long, bleeding cut behind.  In panic, she started crawling away as fast as she was able to, thinking, _Don't kill me oh god don't kill me…_

            The man easily kept pace with her, still ranting, "Yer all the same, you people!  Don't wanna listen t'what's wrong wit' the world!  Always gotta do yer own _thing!_"  On the last word, he swing his knife again, cutting into her arm.  Buttercup shrieked, and started to cry as she continued to crawl, her tears leaving a wet trail on the ground behind her.  "You wanna keep doin' yer own thing?  Let the world go t'hell?  _Is that what y'want?_"

            Buttercup stammered, "N-no, please, I-I…"

            The man roughly grabbed her and flipped her over, onto her back…Buttercup stared up at him in absolute horror as he gripped his knife tightly.  He started to shout at her, swinging his knife at the same time and cutting into her somewhere on each word he stressed, "You're _not…gonna…keep_ on…_doin'_ this…y'_people_…_all_ gotta…_pay_…_!!_"  Buttercup screamed loudly, trying to struggle away, but it wasn't doing any good.  She couldn't see out of one eye, as blood had trickled down from her forehead into it, but with her good eye, she could see him through a haze of tears, raising his knife above his head with both of his hands and shouting, "_ALL O' YOU ARE GONNA PAY!!_" before thrusting the knife down…

*          *            *

            Blossom and Bubbles picked themselves up off the ground, and Bubbles immediately ran back to the door they had just been pulled through, tugging on it.  It was securely locked, "No!  Professor, Buttercup!"

            Grabbing her from behind, Blossom yanked her away from the door and said, "We can't stay here…we've got to go, Bubbles!"  She pointed at the hallway they were now in, which looked like the regular ones throughout the hotel, and said, "We're just in one of the normal hallways, so they'll find us…but if we don't keep moving, we could be in trouble…"

            "Okay," Bubbles said, calming down, "Okay…wh-where to?"

            "I think we should head…" Blossom started to say, but then was cut off by a low, animalistic growl in one direction of the hall.  Turning to look, both of them saw something rounding the end of the hall, coming into the light.  It was a large, black-furred wolf, trotting along slowly, but baring its teeth angrily at the two of them.  Blossom finished her sentence, "…_this way!!_" and pulled Bubbles with her as she ran the other direction down the hall.

            The wolf immediately started charging after them.  The girls ran for their lives…at least they had a long lead on it.  When they reached the end of the corridor, it split up in two separate directions.  Reaching it at the same time, both of them started running in opposite directions.  Blossom hesitated for a moment, realizing that they had inadvertently split up, and was about to run down Bubbles' direction, when she realized that she didn't have time…the wolf would be upon them any moment.  She resumed sprinting down her own hallway.

            Bubbles noticed that Blossom had gone the other way, and as she ran halfway down her own side of the hall, she looked over her shoulder at the intersection they had just come from.  The wolf came into view, stopping and sniffing the air down each passage, then turned towards Bubbles and started running after her.  With a shriek, Bubbles redoubled her efforts, running as fast as she possibly could.

            She rounded the bend in the hallway and noticed an open door not far down, that read 'H. FENTON' on it.  Darting to the door, she rushed inside…it looked like an office, and had several chairs and pieces of furniture, and a tile floor instead of carpet.  Without a moment's hesitation, she circled around the desk and quickly wedged herself underneath it.  She clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle her own cries, but she wasn't completely without sound…she was breathing heavily, both from her sprint, and in fear.

            She waited and listened.  Eventually, she heard the sound of something sniffing the air, and the pads of feet trotting by the door to the room.  The foot sounds came to a halt, and Bubbles, clenched her eyes shut, trying to stay as quiet as she could, although she was trembling with fright, thinking, _Don't come in here please don't find me go away please go away…_

            The sound of the wolf's feet started up again, and she heard the claws clacking against the tiles of the office floor.  Bubbles sweated, and kept her hands clasped over her mouth…it was all she could do to keep from making any sound, and prayed that the wolf wouldn't find her.  She heard the wolf sniffing the air.  It grew louder, and Bubbles held her breath as she saw the tip of the wolf's muzzle come into view at the edge of the desk's opening, still sniffing…

            _Oh my god oh my god,_ Bubbles thought, tensing up and preparing to run if she was discovered.  The wolf sniffed a few more times, then Bubbles heard a low growl erupt from his throat.  That was the sign…she knew she had been found.  With a cry, she leapt out from behind the desk, scrambling for a moment as she tried to go around the other side to make a break for the door.  The wolf charged, butting into her headfirst.  She tripped and landed on the ground, skidding a foot or so before coming to a stop next to a tall floor lamp.

            The wolf rounded the edge of the desk, and Bubbles frantically grabbed hold of the floor lamp, pulling it over to try and block him off.  As she held onto the bar from the lamp, the wolf lunged with its teeth, clamping onto the lamp instead.  Bubbles screamed as the wolf tried to wrench it away, and held on for dear life.  "_Help!!_" she shrieked.  "_Somebody help!!_"

            With a mighty shake of his jaws, the wolf flung the lamp aside…but since Bubbles was still hanging onto it, she was tossed through the air like a rag doll, through the open door of the office.  She landed on her stomach, the wind knocked out of her from the fall…as she gasped for air and tried to get back up, a clawed foot slammed down on the back of her neck, pressing her against the ground again.  She tried to scream again, but couldn't, as the wolf opened his jaws and reached down towards her back…

*          *            *

            Blossom reached the corner of her own hall and looked back…the wolf had chased after Bubbles, going down her section of the hall.  _Oh no, _she thought.  _Bubbles!  Oh god…I hope she's all right…I'd better follow them, maybe between the two of us we can lose that wolf…_

            Before she had time to move, though, she felt something moving around her feet.  Looking down, she saw spiders…hundreds of them, all shapes and sizes, crawling around her ankles on the floor of the hallway.  With a cry, she staggered back against one of the doors, trying to get away, and the door behind her fell open.  She stumbled inside…her hairbow fell off and landed in the hallway, and the door slammed shut.  She had no idea where she was now, but noticed that there weren't any spiders around her anymore, so she gave a sigh of relief.

            Glancing around, she saw that she was just inside of another one of the hotel's rooms.  She felt the top of her head, realizing that her bow was gone, and moved over to the door, putting her ear up against it.  She heard crawling sounds on the opposite side.  _I'd better not go out the same way I came in,_ she thought.  _Those spiders must still be out there._  She started looking around for another way out, although this room didn't have windows either.

            Staring up at the ceiling, she spotted something that she thought looked like an air vent, and climbed up onto the bed to see if she could get to it from there.  After a few hops, she found it was out of her reach.  She started looking around the room for anything she could pile up to use as a stepladder.

            At that moment, however, she noticed something along the top edges of the walls…it looked like blood was trickling down from them, slowly moving like a curtain down the sides of all the walls…the blood ran thin on a few spots, and formed pictures…awful pictures, of people dying in all kinds of different ways.  Some were being stabbed, some were being crushed, or burned, or cut apart.  Blossom just gaped at the images…she wanted to look away, but couldn't.

            It took her a moment to realize that the blood was starting to collect on the floor, and was slowly filling the room.  She backed up against the headboard, watching as the level rose, and eventually passed over the top of the bed as well.  It was all wet and sticky as it flowed up past her ankles…she climbed up the side of the headboard to stay out of it, but it was rising too fast.  She shuddered with revulsion as it rose past her waist, up to her neck…

            _This isn't real, none of this is real,_ she thought.  She held her breath as it rose up to the halfway point on her head, and as she felt the taste of the blood against her lips, she started splashing around in a frenzy, trying to stay afloat, thinking, _It's real it's real oh god it's real I'm gonna die!_  She spotted the vent on the ceiling, and thought, _My last chance_…closing her eyes and still holding her breath, she started swimming towards it.

            The level of the blood rose all the way up to the ceiling now…there was no more air, and no way to see where she was.  She swam in the proper direction and felt along the ceiling, trying to find the vent, but she couldn't find it.  _Where is it WHERE IS IT?!_ she thought hysterically…_Oh god NO!!_  She couldn't hold her breath another moment, and opened her mouth…blood flowed in, and she gagged, clasping her hands around her throat, thrashing around blindly…

*          *            *

            The professor continued down the hall, shouting, "Girls?  If you can hear me, say something!  Girls!"  It wasn't doing any good…he heard nothing in reply.  _They can't have gotten too far,_ he thought.  _I can run faster than them right now, so if I pick up the speed, maybe I can catch up to them…_

            He started jogging down the hallway, but only made it about twenty feet or so before his foot suddenly went through a portion of the ground, parts of it splintering away like it was made of old, rotted wood.  Surprised, he fell forward, his leg sinking halfway up past his knee before striking the bottom, and he braced his fall with his hands.  _Ow…That's odd,_ he thought…_nothing looked wrong with the floor…_

            He started to pull his leg back out, when something grabbed it from below.  He heard a voice groan, "…help me!…let me out!…." and the hands that were clamp tightly to his leg tugged harder at it, frantically trying to pull him down.  The professor tried to pull his leg free, but whoever was holding it twisted hard with a tremendous *_snap*_.

            "Arrgh!" the professor shouted, and pulled harder, finally getting his leg free from the hole.  He rolled back on the ground clutching it, gritting his teeth.  His leg was in bad shape, twisted at an unnatural angle.  He started to pull himself away from the hole, when he noticed that it wasn't even there anymore…it had vanished, replaced by solid ground, like it had never been there to begin with.

            Weakly, he pulled himself up onto his good leg and limped down the hallway, focusing on his objective.  _I have to find the girls and get out,_ he thought…_who knows what they're going through right now?_  He struggled forward, pain shooting through his leg with every step, but he ignored it and continued on.

            He was alerted by a noise up ahead…it sounded like a familiar scream, but it was suddenly cut off with a *_thud*_.  _Bubbles!_ the professor thought, and limped faster, turning the corner.  He gasped at what he saw…a large wolf was holding Bubbles down with its head bent over towards her back.  Her eyes were clenched and she was trying to scream, but barely any sound came out, just a high-pitched whine.  The wolf lifted its head and looked back at the professor, blood dripping from its jaws and growling.

            _Oh god,_ the professor thought.  He looked at the wall and grabbed the nearest thing he could get his hands on, one of the lamps that lined the wall.  Pulling it free, he flung it with his good arm as hard as he can.  The lamp struck the wolf on the side of the head.  The growling abruptly stopped, and it immediately bounded off down the hallway, whimpering, and disappearing from view.

            The professor moved as fast as he could over to Bubbles…her back had been torn into a little, although it didn't look _too_ bad.  Blood was still pooling around her, though, and she opened her eyes, lifting her head to look up at the professor.  She stuck out her arm weakly, and in a strained voice, said, "P…profess…." before she passed out.

            Biting his lip, he knelt down next to her, wincing for a moment from the pain in his leg, and ripped part of the bottom of his lab coat off.  He wrapped it carefully around her body, making a makeshift bandage, then carefully picked her up, holding her under his arm.  She was still unconscious, but she seemed like she'd be all right.  _I hope the other girls are okay,_ he thought…

            He continued on down the hallway…even though it was the same direction the wolf had gone, he guessed that the wolf wouldn't be there anymore.  He was right…the halls looked completely empty.  A second later, though, he spotted something by one of the doors…it was Blossom's hairbow.  As he got closer, he saw something else…blood coming from under the door.

            _That's not Blossom's, is it?!_ he thought.  Without another moment, he hurried to the door and opened it.  Immediately, a literal flood of blood poured out from the room, knocking him off his feet.  He landed on his back, still cradling Bubbles to keep her safe.  When the flood finally ceased, he looked up and saw that something else had washed out of the room: Blossom.  She was lying face down, and coughing heavily.

            "Blossom!" the professor exclaimed.  "Are you all right?"

            She coughed some more, spitting some blood up, and saw the professor.  She wheezed, "…Professor…it's you…!"

            Nodding, the professor struggled back to his feet, trying to be careful not to slip on the blood that covered the floor.  "Did you find Buttercup?"

            Blossom noticed her hairbow on the ground in front of her and picked it back up putting it on her head.  "No, I…" she said, but then stopped, staring at the professor and Bubbles.  She saw his leg all bent out of shape, and the blood soaking through the cloth wrapped around Bubbles' back.  _That's…that's…_ Blossom thought…_The vision I saw before…but Buttercup was also…_

            She heard a short scream come from the end of the hall.  The professor must have heard it too, because they both swiveled their heads around to face the sound.  Where she wasn't there before, Buttercup was lying up against the wall, covered with bleeding cuts.  She was unmoving…for a horrifying moment, they thought she was dead, but then she slowly opened one eye, as if she had been expecting something.  She clenched her eye shut again and groaned loudly in pain.

_            She's…she's covered with cuts, _Blossom thought.  _Just like in the vision too!  That means…the vision I saw…it really _is_ all coming true…except for the one I saw of myself…but if the others came true…then I'm…no…no, I have to get out of here!  I HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!!_  Blossom jumped to her feet and took off down the hall, in too much of a panic to stop.  "Blossom!" the professor called, but it was too late…she had already outdistanced them.

            She ran non-stop down several hall lengths before finally resting against the wall to catch her breath.  _No, keep moving, _she told herself.  She gathered her strength and stepped forward…and suddenly, was pulled into the air, dangling upside down.  She looked around in shock, and saw that she was dangling by her leg from a rope, like she had just stepped into a snare.  Although she was stunned, she tried to reach up to untie the rope, but couldn't from the angle she was at.

            A man stepped around the corner…he had brown hair and a moustache, and he was wearing clothing that was camouflaged, like jungle wear.  A rifle was strapped to his back, and a large knife was in a holder on the side of one of his boots.  He pulled this knife out as he walked towards Blossom and said, "So, I finally caught ye…bleedin' wolf, won't be botherin' _anyone_ now."

            Blossom protested, "I-I'm not a wolf!  I'm a person!"  She continued to struggle, but the ropes held fast.

            Her protests didn't seem to do any good…the man's pleased expression didn't change at all, like he hadn't heard her.  He approached her, holding the knife out, and said, "The chief's going to pay me for yer pelt, wolfie…but I'm sure ye won't be needin' it anymore."  The realization of what he was about to do hit Blossom, and she screamed desperately, hoping that someone would help her.  Ignoring her screams, the man grabbed a hold of her long hair, and raised his knife…

**_TO BE CONTINUED…_**


	5. Departures

**_What Once Was_**

**By:  Mark J. Hadley**

*          *            *

**CHAPTER 5: "Departures"**

            Buttercup could barely move, but she struggled to push herself up to an upright sitting position, squinting out of one eye at the Professor and Bubbles.  She heard Blossom run off, but couldn't see to where…nor could she really focus on that anyway.  She was too preoccupied with her own injuries.  _Can this get any worse?_ she thought.  _No…doesn't matter…either this hotel is gonna kill us…or it's gonna just keep torturing us like this…for god knows how long…no, no matter what, it can't get worse than this…_

            The professor watched where Blossom had run off, and knew he couldn't pursue her.  It was impossible, with his leg in this condition, but if he didn't try, and something happened to her, he'd curse himself for not being there.  Holding Bubbles under one arm, he hastily moved over and scooped Buttercup up under the other, ignoring the pain in his shoulder from where he was stabbed earlier.

            "…No…" Buttercup said, her voice straining.  "…just leave me…doesn't matter, we're not gonna…get outta here…anyway…"

            "Yes, we will," the professor said firmly.  "The situation is bad, but it's not hopeless.  We can still make it out."  As he spoke, he hurried in the direction that Blossom had gone, limping along slowly but surely.

            As they continued, Bubbles began to stir under his arm, "Uhhhnn…"  She opened her eyes gradually, then winced, one of her hands reaching behind her to hold her back over the wound.  The professor breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that she was all right, and Bubbles looked up at the professor, asking, "What…happened?"

            "Bubbles, thank goodness," he said.  "Can you walk?"

            "I think so…" came her reply.  The professor set her down on the ground, and she tested her legs.  Her back ached, but her legs were just fine, albeit a little shaky.  "Yes…I can walk…"

            The professor said, "Good…I need you to go on ahead of me, since you're faster.  Stay in my sight, so that I don't lose you…but we've got to catch up with Blossom.  She went running down this way, and I'm afraid of what will happen to her on her own…"

            Bubbles nodded, "I understand."  She walked off down the hall…even despite her unsteady legs, she was still moving twice as fast as the professor.  She called out, "Blossom?  Can you hear me?"  There was no answer.  _Maybe Blossom found the exit,_ she thought.  _Maybe she's outside right now…maybe we do have a way out…_

            When she rounded the corner, she froze in her tracks, her eyes widening in horror, and her mouth dropping open.  What she saw seemed incomprehensible, and her mind told her that it had to be an illusion.  Something was hanging by its feet from a rope anchored to the ceiling at the far end of the hall…even at this distance, she could make out the details.  Its skin had been completely stripped from its body, and it was soaked in blood, which dripped into a puddle beneath where it hung.  It looked less like a person and more like a slab of meat than anything else.  But the shape was recognizably human, and it was also the perfect size and shape for…

            _No…it can't be,_ she thought…_Oh please god no…_

            The professor noticed her shocked expression, and suddenly feared the worst, calling out, "What's wrong?  Bubbles?"  Buttercup noticed her expression as well.

            Bubbles, still open-mouthed, tried to speak, but only a horrified whine came out of her throat.  She walked slowly towards it…even though she wanted to look away, she had to know for sure.  By the time she was about halfway down the hall, the professor had turned the corner with Buttercup, and both of them gasped in shock.  Bubbles kept walking wordlessly forward, and soon she was close enough that she could see its eyes…although barely open, she spotted the pink irises…

            "B…B…B…." Bubbles stammered, and fell back another couple of steps, shaking her head in disbelief.  When it fully settled in, she fell to her knees on the ground and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "_NOOOOOOOO!!!!_"  The professor had reached her by this point, and Bubbles spun around, grabbing hold of his good leg and burying her face in it, bursting out into tears.  The professor ran a hand through her hair trying to comfort her, but he couldn't take his own eyes off of Blossom, tears building in them as well.  She couldn't believe she was dead…not his little angel…

            Buttercup closed her eyes and whispered, "So…we're gonna die then…"  Tears squeezed out from her eyelids, but she ignored it and actually chuckled a little, "…great way to end a vacation, huh…?"

            Abruptly, Bubbles turned and screamed at where Blossom was hanging, "_No!  _It's not _real!_  Blossom's okay somewhere, she's gotta be!  The ghosts are trying to trick us!  It's a lie it's a lie it's a _lie!_"

            "Bubbles!  Listen to me!" the professor shouted.  "Stay calm…maybe you're right, and this _is _just an illusion.  I wouldn't put it past this house to do something like this to us…"

            "Yeah…" Buttercup wheezed, "…it's done everythin' else…"

            "…but regardless," the professor continued, "we have to accept the fact that Blossom may be gone.  The best thing we can do now is to try and put this aside so we can get out of this hotel.  We can grieve later, but if we sit and grieve now, we could _all_ be doomed…"

            Shaking her head, Buttercup said, "…too late…already doomed…"

            "Buttercup, that's enough!" the professor said to her.  "We're only doomed if we give up.  There's _always_ a way, and if we can just…"

            "Lookin' for a way out, mac?" a voice interrupted from one direction of the hall.  Everyone looked over, and saw a large man, dressed in overalls and a plaid shirt, and with a dirty old cap on his head.  He carried a wrench in one hand, and was covered with black grease stains, like he had just come from doing mechanical work on a car.

            _Another ghost,_ the professor thought, _but as long as he's going to be helpful,_ "Uh, yes…I'm told there's a back entrance, do you know where it is?"

            The man lifted the edge of his cap up and scratched his head, "Well…y'could use the maintenance door.  It kinda slants down into the basement, near the boiler…"  He pulled out a rag and wiped some of the grease from his face, as he added, "It's locked from the inside, but y'should be able to get out that way."

            Bubbles smiled, "Where's the basement?"

            "Oh, you ain't far from it," he said, pointing past them down the hall.  "Jes' follow this hall and take two lefts, then a right.  Y'can't miss it."

            The professor nodded, "Thanks!"  The man nodded back and turned, heading back the way he came.  _We know where the back exit is now_, the professor thought, _but we still have to get there.  At least this ghost was helpful._  He looked down at Buttercup and said, "You see?  We're going to make it out of her after all…"

            Buttercup managed a smile and said, "Great…maybe you're right…I dunno…I'm not gettin' my hopes up 'till I see the sky outside, though."

            "Fair enough," the professor agreed.  "We have a chance now…Bubbles, I need you to take the lead again, since you can move the fastest…"  He stopped, noticing that Bubbles was just standing there, unmoving, starting blankly at the wall.  Curiously, he said, "Bubbles?  What's wrong?"

            There was no answer for a moment, but then Bubbles suddenly walked forward, right up to one of the doors in the hallway.  Without a word, she swung it open and went inside.  Right on the floor in front of the door was a baseball bat…she scooped it up and turned around, facing the professor and Buttercup.  Her eyes seemed to be glazed over, not focusing on anything.

            "Are you okay?" the professor asked.

            She strode out of the room, patting the bat in her other hand, and spoke in a low voice, "Youze gots my money?"

            The professor hesitated, then said, "Wha…?"  Then he realized… _She's possessed again,_ he thought.

            "Dat's it," Bubbles growled with a frown.  "Dat's da last time yer gonna stiff me on my money, punk!  If yer not gonna pay up, den say hello ta Mr. Bat…"  Without another warning, Bubbles swung the bat hard…she didn't exactly swing with a lot of force, but it struck the professor in his broken leg, and he cried out, collapsing to the ground and dropping Buttercup.  He clutched his leg in pain.

            Bubbles approached him again, and he scrambled back a few feet, but before he could gain too much distance, Bubbles swung the bat upwards, clipping him on the chin.  It wasn't enough to knock him out, but enough to daze him, as he hit the ground, groggily trying to regain his bearings.  As he did, she turned her attention to Buttercup, who stared back at her through one open eye.

            "Whaddaya lookin' at, Joey?" Bubbles sneered.  "Yer da worst one of dem all, tryin' ta muscle in on my territory.  Lemme show you what happens when ya cross Toni…"

            "B-Bubbles…no…" Buttercup pleaded.  "Fight it…don't…"

            "_Shaddap!_" Bubbles shouted…swinging the bat around, she clubbed Buttercup on the side of the head, who was knocked sideways in a brief grunt of pain and lay sprawled out across the ground, unconscious.  Bubbles didn't let up, but raised the bat over her head and smacked her again with it…and again…and again…

            A few moments later, the professor dizzily sat up, holding his jaw…his vision was blurry, but he could make out Bubbles standing there, a blood-soaked bat resting at her side, staring down at Buttercup.  Or at least he _thought_ it was Buttercup, but it was almost too bloodied from repeated blows to tell.  _Oh no, _he thought_…no…not her too…_

            Bubbles stood for a moment longer, but then shook her head, as if it clear it, the bat falling out of her hands…immediately, she fell to her knees in front of Buttercup and, in tears, bawled, "_No no no oh my god I didn't mean it I'm so sorry oh my god…_"

            The professor managed to crawl closer to her and said, "Bubbles…do you…know what happened…?"

            "_Yes!_" she wailed, collapsing her head into the ground.  "I remember it, I remember _everything_…god… I c-could see everything b-but I couldn't control it a-an' I couldn't stop it an' then I-I …I…"  She couldn't speak anymore, she was crying too heavily.

            The professor put his arm around her, "It wasn't your fault…it's the ghosts.  Just remember that, okay?  It's not your fault."

            She looked up, staring the professor right in the eyes, tears rolling down her face from her own, and said, "B-Buttercup is…w-was…right…we're all gonna die…"

            "No," the professor said, even though he was beginning to realize this also.  "We're not.  Not if we can reach the back exit…"

            "_Blossom's dead!_" she shrieked at him.  "_Buttercup's dead!  We're gonna die too!_"  She collapsed weakly onto his arm, gripping it and pressing her face against his shoulder…her voice came in a whisper, repeating over and over, "I don't wanna die I don't wanna die I don't wanna die…"

            The professor put his arms around her, trying to comfort her…but then, felt her back curiously.  "Bubbles…what happened to your back?"

            Bubbles looked up at him, not understanding, "W-what?  M-My back?"

            Wordlessly, he undid her bandage, which was no longer soaked in blood, oddly.  He examined her back, and found that her wound had vanished.  "You're not hurt anymore…do you feel anything when I do this?"  He pressed against her back in the spot where she was hurt earlier.

            Bubbles shook her head, "No, nothing…but…"

            "I know, it's completely gone," he said.  "Almost like it…like it never happened in the first place…"  He thought about this for a second, then looked up to where Blossom was hanging.  With shock, he exclaimed, "Look!"  Bubbles looked over and gasped at what she saw.

            Blossom was still hanging upside down, but she looked perfectly all right.  Not a scratch was on her, and she batted her eyes slightly, as though trying to wake up.  She groaned, "Uhh…what…happened…"

            "Blossom!" Bubbles cried out, getting up and running tearfully over towards her.  She only made it a few steps before she tripped over Buttercup, though, who was lying on the ground still in the middle of the hallway…it took her a moment to realize that she was unharmed now, too.  There was no sign of the beating that Bubbles had given her.

            The professor said, "Buttercup, you're all right!"

            Buttercup blinked a few times, sitting up, and said, "I…am?  But…I was just…and Bubbles was…"  She scratched her head in confusion.

            "Can someone get me down?" Blossom called out.  She tried to reach up to untie the rope herself, but still couldn't reach it.  The professor quickly stood up and walked over to help get her down…as he started to untie the knot, Blossom stared at him and said, "Professor…your leg!  And your arm!"

            "Hm?" he said…he glanced down and suddenly realized that he _had_ just walked over here without any problems.  His leg had miraculously returned to its original condition.  He flexed it a few times, and said, "This is incredible!  Maybe it really _was_ just an illusion.  I don't feel my leg broken at all…"

            "And speaking of legs…" Bubbles said, pointing at Buttercup.

            "Huh?" Buttercup said, and looked down, at her own legs…it took her a moment to fully understand what she was looking at, and when she did, she gasped, happily reaching down and grabbing her leg with her hands, coiling her knee up against her chest and hugging it, "It's back!  It's not gone!  Ohhh, I love you I love you!"  She started kissing her knee repeatedly.

            The professor finished untying Blossom, and she twisted around in midair, hovering above the ground and saying, "Thanks, Professor…So, if this was all fake, that means there's nothing to be afraid of anymore!  Just so long as we keep in mind that…"

            "Blossom!" Buttercup shouted.  "Look, you're flying!"

            Blossom was indeed hovering off the ground…she smiled in joy and said, "Hey!  Our powers are back, too!"  The other girls tested their own powers, lifting back up off the ground the same way Blossom had, joining her in the air next to them.  Narrowing her eyes, but still smiling, she added, "All right…now it should be a _snap_ for us to get out of here!  Let's just go through the front door…ready?"

            "I'm ready," the professor nodded.

            "Right behind you!" Bubbles answered…both she and Buttercup grabbed one of the professor's arms, carrying him into the air so that the four of them could reach the door faster.  They zipped down the hallway, sparing no time, and in only a few seconds, reached the foyer again.  As expected, it was still in its dilapidated condition, but now, a few boards covering a door wouldn't be able to stop them.

            Blossom opened fire with her eyebeams, slicing the wood from the doors in an instant.  They swung open, and outside, they could see that the sun was just getting ready to rise.  Bubbles said, "Maybe that's why the ghosts all left…it's almost dawn…"

            "Maybe," the professor said, "but either way, at least we're all safe."

            "Last one in the car's a rotten egg!" Buttercup shouted, and dashed past Blossom, heading for the doors.  She was overjoyed to be leaving at last.  As she did, though, she suddenly smacked into something in the air that brought her to a screeching halt.  "Ow…what the…?"

            "What's wrong?" Blossom said, flying up next to her.

            Buttercup reached out carefully to the open doorway, and her hand pressed against something solid, "It's…some kind of invisible wall…"

            "What?" Bubbles said.  She flew over and felt the wall with her hand, too, then started pounding on it, trying to break it down, but having no luck.  "It won't budge!" she told them.

            "But there's nothing _there_…" Blossom said.

            "Hmm…" the professor murmured to himself.  He scooped up a chair from the foyer, shaking the cobwebs off from it.  Hoisting it up, he threw it past the girls and through the doorway…it passed through normally, crashing to the ground outside and breaking apart.

            "So…why can't _we _leave?  We should be able to…" Buttercup said.

            "…unless…" Blossom continued.

            "…we're…actually…" Bubbles added.

            All four of them stared wordlessly at the exit, as it all made sense to them.  It was why their wounds seemed to magically vanish…it was why they couldn't leave the house now…it was the same reason why the other people who had died in the house couldn't leave, either.  As the sun started to rise, the four of them hung their heads silently, closing their eyes…even as they began to fade from view, Blossom carefully swung the doors towards each other, and they closed with a heavy sound that seemed to reverberate throughout the Hotel Vananda…

*          *            *

            "…and that's _exactly_ what happened!" the mayor exclaimed worriedly from behind his desk in his office.  "I'm _sure_ of it!"

            Ms. Bellum, standing on the opposite side of the desk, sighed and held her face in her palm, "Mayor…they're just a day late.  There's any _number_ of reasons why the girls haven't shown up from vacation yet.  Don't tell me you sat up all _night _fabricating that ridiculous story!"

            "Well…I was worried…" the mayor said, looking away and fidgeting.  "But I _know_ this happened…"

            Folding her arms, Ms. Bellum asked, "Mayor, what did I tell you about your overactive imagination?"

            "Ah…use it for writing new laws?" he replied.

            "Mm-hm," Ms. Bellum nodded.  "And not for what?"

            "Ahh…not for…coming up with…worst-case scenarios?" the mayor answered.

            "That's right," she nodded, and turned to walk out of the office, shaking her head and muttering to herself, "I sincerely hope that's the last time he does this…"  She left the office and closed the doors behind her.

            The mayor sank down in his seat and said, "Well…it _could _have happened…"  The phone suddenly rang, and he said, "Ah well, back to work."  He picked up the receiver and answered it, "Hello?"

            The voice on the other end of the line was Professor Utonium, who said, "Mayor!  I just wanted to call and let you know…the girls and I having such a wonderful time here on our vacation that we decided to stay an extra day!  I hope it didn't startle you, because the phones were out yesterday, so we couldn't call to let you know…"

            "Oh…ahh…" the mayor said, glancing around his office aimlessly.  "Of…of course not.  So…what if something happens while the girls are gone?"

            "Just get in contact with us here at the hotel," he said.  "It's the Hotel Vananda…the number here is…"

            "The Hotel _what?_"

            "Vananda…"

            The mayor shouted, "_BWAAHHH!!_" and hung up the phone suddenly.  He sank further down in his chair and muttered, "Ohh…Townsville is doomed…"

*          *            *

            The professor, wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, stared at the phone in his hand, which now just gave a dial tone.  He shrugged and hung up the phone, turning back towards the balcony of their suite at the hotel, overlooking the beach below.  The girls were out amongst the other hotel residents, dressed in their swimsuits and playing in the water.  He leaned against the rail and sighed happily, thinking, _The girls deserved an extra day of vacation for all their hard work.  I'm just glad we found such a relaxing place to spend it…_

THE END 


End file.
